India has strengthened its alliance with Iraq over the past year, primarily due to energy dependence. The ISIL crisis in Iraq could have repercussions for India’s energy policy as well as its foreign policy dealings with the Middle East. When the BJP took charge in New Delhi, a fragile Iraq was beginning to face a […]

ISIL’s recent territorial gains pose a significant threat to the security and stability of Iraq and its neighbors. For Iran, however, ISIL threatens to topple its most significant regional trading partner and economic lifeline. This article is part of a GRI series on ISIL, Iraq, and the Middle East. The vast territorial gains made by ISIL in […]

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has moved onto the Kurdistan Regional Governorate’s doorstep, killing and plundering its way from Mosul to near Baghdad. Some champions of Kurdistan see opportunity, all the while Iraq faces an existential threat. This article is part of a GRI series on ISIL, Iraq, and the Middle East. As ISIL moved […]

ISIL has conquered substantial territory in past weeks, but also gained new enemies. The increased focus on and military contra against ISIL means that the group cannot continue for long. This article is part of a GRI series on ISIL, Iraq, and the Middle East. In the coming months, the gains made by The Islamic State […]

ISIL is proving to be not just a political threat to Iraq, but an economic one too. Nevertheless, Iraq-Turkey trade and investment prospects will not suffer as ruinous a decline as some fear. This article is part of a GRI series on ISIL, Iraq, and the Middle East. As the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) […]

It was fashionable in 2007 to label the Iraq War as the next Vietnam. It was easy to draw parallels – weak local allies, a post-invasion quagmire, insurgency, inability to win the “hearts and minds” led pundits to declare the Iraq War as ‘Vietnam 2.0.’ With a major crisis unfolding in the past week, it […]

Some markets have avoided rigid laws and regulations as a comparative advantage. But that has changed lately. Compliance has gained in importance worldwide as laws approved in one corner of the world can affect distant markets. The Middle East is no exception. The Middle East may not be a very stable region, but some of its countries […]

Egypt’s newly elected President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, inherits a nation embattled by years of turmoil and instability. A bleak economic situation and continued crackdown on opposition and militant attacks are likely to define his time in office. Following Mubarak, Morsi, and military rule, the Republic of Egypt has once again redefined its political landscape with […]

Senegal plans to issue an Islamic law compliant bond in 2014, building on momentum in sukuk issuance globally. Senegal’s government looks set to issue a type of Islamic bond, known as sukuk as the country hopes to tap financing from wealthy Islamic states. According to reports from a recent meeting of the African Development Bank, […]

Big infrastructure projects are already in place to improve much of the Middle East and Africa’s expensive and slow Internet. For many countries, however, many issues lie ahead. Over the last five years, there has been a spate of new international subsea fiber-optic cable networks linking African and Middle Eastern coastal countries to the global […]